How to Break a Dragon Rider's Heart
by agdoll95
Summary: When Viggo took the Dragon Eye, he got more than just the relic. He had planned to take something else and hopefully gain something from it as well, at the expense of Hiccup, her happiness, and her innocence. But Hiccup was not going to give Viggo what he wanted, not if she had anything to say about it. Race to the Edge Semi-Sequel to Why Toothless was so Passionate Towards Hiccup.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Hiccup continued to pace up and down her hut's floor. It had only been a few hours since she and Astrid had found the Maces and Talons board which had issued Viggo's challenge to her. After talking with the others, she had shut herself up in her hut to try and come up with a plan to get Heather back and keep the Dragon Eye out of Viggo's reach. How she wished that she still had her dragon powers, that the blood bond between her and Toothless was still active. Right now, she would have been happy to be a Night Fury right now. At least that would be something the Viggo wouldn't see coming. But the fact of the matter is, the terms of the bond had been meant and now the only thing that remained of that bond was the scar from where she had cut herself all those years ago when she had accidently mingled her blood with Toothless' and her eyes had somehow been changed from brown to an emerald green. She had wanted to ask Toothless why and how, but she could no longer understand him the way she had when the bond was still active.

At times it did seem like she and Toothless could hear each other's thoughts or even understand each other sometimes, But they would only last for an instant. But she couldn't bring herself to figure out how it worked, not now.

When she finally stopped pacing and stopped to look at her maps, she kept thinking about her plan to get Heather back. It wasn't a good plan. But it was the best she had right now. They were going to have to head for an island they had never been on before so Viggo was going to have that advantage. But hopefully if he had dragons, and he was going to, she would know things about dragons that even he wouldn't know. She reviewed her notes on dragons in her notebooks, the Book of Dragons, Bork's papers, and the Dragon Eye. Hopefully, all this would give her and the other riders some kind of advantage over the dragon hunters.

Hiccup felt Toothless nudge her arm as she felt her body begin to shake. "Oh Bud, I know, it's just, there is so much riding on this. If I mess this up, we could lose the Dragon Eye and Heather could die. I'm just scared Bud." She said turning from all her notes and rubbing Toothless' head as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

She heard Toothless purr as he wrapped his wings around her in a hug. She felt the shaking stop and she was finally able to stand still again long enough to get her head straight and think her plan over again. She just hoped that it would be enough to get everyone out safely.

(Viggo)

Viggo sat at his desk staring at his Maces and Talons board. He was excited to see what kind of player Hiccup was. As shocked as he was to find out his new opponent was a young woman, he wasn't that surprised to see how gullible she could be, leaving her base unguarded while his men searched for the Dragon Eye. While he was disappointed to hear that they were unable to find it, he had little doubt that Hiccup would be carrying it with her this time around. And he was ready to get back what had belonged to his people for centuries.

"It won't be much longer Hiccup. You and your friends will soon play right into my hands." He laughed quietly to himself.

As the hours rolled on, he kept wondering what Hiccup must really be like. To outsmart his older brother and his own hunters repeatedly and be able to keep the Dragon Eye from them for as long as she had. Maybe she really was an opponent worthy to be his adversary. Finally the hour of reckoning had arrived. Viggo was in his tent when Ryker came in to tell him that Hiccup and the other riders had gotten past the Typhoomeranges. Sur[rising to hear that she was able to slip right down the middle of the fire.

"Interesting, the girl really knows her dragons I'll give her that." Viggo answered quiet intrigued by what he heard.

"But what should we do, most of our forces have been stationed near the front."

"Not to worry big brother, everything is taken care of." Viggo said getting up and heading out of his tent. "Now then I think it's time myself and young Hiccup Haddock were officially introduced." He said heading for the spot where he had predicted that Hiccup would come looking for Heather.

He crouched in the cage with a blanket over him and listened. As he heard her footsteps coming closer, he knew it was time.

"Heather, come on let's go." He heard her voice say as the blanket was pulled away.

As he laid his eyes on her, he was very much stunned to see how beautiful she really was. Not that it changed his plans to get the Dragon Eye, but now he planned to get something else out of it.

"Where's Heather?" Hiccup demanded.

"I'm afraid she won't be joining us tonight. This game is between you and me." Viggo answered as his gaze shifted up and down her small and yet gracefully figured frame. "And I must admit, you exceeded my expectations for you. And since I'm feeling gracious tonight, I'll give you a head start."

"Why would you do that?" Hiccup asked keeping her shield in front of her.

"Because I am enjoying this and if I were to finish this now the game would end all too quickly." Viggo said as Hiccup slowly turned and then she took off.

Viggo signaled his men to wait for his command. After waiting for a minute or so, he sent to follow her. They caught up and cornered her with her dragon, a Night Fury, who was undoubtly carrying the Dragon Eye, as she had called it.

"If you don't mind I'll use that, once we get it back from you."

"Not going to happen." Hiccup said as she climbed on her dragon ready to take off.

But before they could even get off the ground, the Flightmare they had captured the night before was urged to spray its paralyzing mist and hit its target. Hiccup and Toothless were paralyzed. Everything was going according to plan.

"You and your Night Fury played right into my hands." He said as he took out the Dragon Eye and handed it to Ryker. He then worked her hands loose from the saddle. "You will be coming with me." He then took the Dragon Eye back from Ryker and handed him their new hostage. "I have truly enjoyed this game we have played and I promise you, we will play again soon." He said as they tied her up and took off with her, leaving her Night Fury still paralyzed in the field.

They trekked through the caves with the Flightmare and stopped as they realized Hiccup's paralysis was wearing off.

"Let go of me!" Hiccup began to yell as she kicked to get free of Ryker's hold on her.

One of the hunters final got her to be quiet or quieter by gagging her mouth so she wouldn't make as much noise.

"Try not to damage her too much. She could be of some good use to us." Viggo ordered staring at her bright emerald eyes.

He stood in front of the Flightmare as the glow from the mist shone through the Dragon Eye. Viggo could hear the other dragon riders coming with the Night Fury not far behind.

"Just a moment more." He said. At last the process was complete. "Release it, release the dragon." The Flightmare took off after the other riders.

He heard Hiccup struggling to break loose. "Accepting defeat is a difficult but necessary part of competition Hiccup." He smiled at her as he nodded to one of the other hunters who then took a club to her head and let droop over Ryker's shoulder unconscious.

Viggo could not wait to have some time alone with her.

(Toothless)

After the Flightmare was gone, Toothless tried to go back through the tunnels to find his hatchling, but they were already gone.

"They couldn't have gotten far, come on!" Toothless tried to order the other dragons.

"Toothless," Stormfly called to him. "He's not down there. You and Hiccup both knew Viggo had this whole thing planned out from start to finish. He's long gone by now."

Toothless felt his rage boil over until he finally lost it, letting out a shrill cry of anger.

"Whoa!" Tuffnut exclaimed on the back of his dragon as they landed. "I have never heard Toothless do that before."

"Yeah." Ruffnut answered. "It was awesome."

"He's upset because the hunters, and Viggo have Hiccup and who knows what they'll do to her. Or for that matter, what they want her for." Astrid answered.

"We need to go back to Berk and tell Stoick." Fishlegs said landing with Meatlug. "Skullcrusher could help us find Hiccup."

"And if we find Hiccup, we find Viggo and the Dragon Eye." Snotlout finished.

"First we should head back to the Edge for rest, it's been a long night and there's no way the dragons are in shape for a long night light." Astrid commanded.

"But what about Toothless, he can't fly on his own, how's he going to get back to the Edge?" Fishlegs asked.

"Don't worry, Hiccup asked me to carry something for him just in case." Astrid said reaching into her saddle bag and pulled out the tail that Hiccup had made for Toothless three years ago. "Hiccup fixed it just in case something like this would happen and Toothless needed to fly. She asked me to hang on to it if we ever needed to use it."

"Smart." Fishlegs grinned as Astrid unhooked the old tail and strapped the new one in place.

"Alright, let's head back to the Edge and get some sleep. We head for Berk first thing in the morning." Astrid said getting back on Stormfly.

Toothless had to admit, he was grateful that Hiccup thought enough ahead to have another tail for him in case he had to fly without her, but he stilled wanted her on his back flying with him. And now she was in the hands of a mad man who was planning to do Thor knows what with her. And he knew whatever it was, it wasn't going to be good. But that's why he was going to find her, if was the last thing she did, he would find her. And if those hunters, or Viggo, hurt her there was going to be Hel to pay.

Toothless didn't sleep at all that night. He couldn't even lay down, he just kept pacing all night until the others woke up. Toothless was already to go, he took off just as the other riders were getting onto the backs of their dragons. They had to hurry to catch up with him.

"If this good weather holds we should reach Berk by the end of the day." Astrid said as they flew over the ocean.

Toothless had to be grateful for that, but he couldn't stop thinking about Hiccup, what kind of torture were the hunters inflicting on her? Would she even still be in one piece when they found her? One thing was certain, if they had hurt her in anyway, he would make sure that none of the hunters, especially Viggo Grimborn, never saw the light of day again.

The hours flew by, literally, but finally Berk came into view and Toothless beat his wings harder going faster. He landed in the middle of town and ran to find Stoick as the other riders landed a short time later.

"I have never seen Toothless this upset." Fishlegs said as they caught up with him at the forge.

"He's worried about Hiccup, we all are." Astrid said they found Stoick talking with Gobber.

"What about Hiccup? Where is she?" Stoick asked as he came out with Gobber just behind him.

"Hiccup's been kidnapped by the dragon hunters." Astrid answered. "We need your help to track her down."

Stoick's eyes flared with anger. "I'll get Skullcrusher ready. We are going to find my daughter." He said as he started for his house.

Toothless followed Stoick. "Don't worry Toothless, when we find those dragon hunters, we'll show them what happens when they mess with anyone from Berk. Especially our family."

Toothless growled in agreement. If Hiccup was hurt, nothing would stop him from burning all Viggo's fleet to a smoldering pile of ash.

'Don't worry Hiccup, we'll find you soon.' Toothless thought as Skullcrusher came from back around the house.

"I just need something with her scent on it." Stoick said getting Skullcrusher's saddle on.

"Will this work?" Fishlegs asked handing Stoick Hiccup's notebook.

"I guess we'll find out." Stoick answered holding the notebook up to Skullcrusher's snout.

Skullcrusher gave it a sniff and nodded at Toothless and Stoick. "I got it. Let's go." He answered as he bowed to let Stoick on his back.

"This is going to be fun." Gobber said climbing on behind Stoick.

With a beat of the dragons' wings, they were all off searching for Hiccup.

"Don't worry, we'll find you soon, just hang in there a little longer, for me." Toothless pleaded in a croon as they flew on in search of the hatchling he had watched over for so long. He was not about to lose her again.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

(Hiccup)

The past few days had been torture, worse than torture. The only thing that kept her from killing herself was hearing Toothless' voice each night when she was in her cage. Viggo might have thought he could break her the way he was going, but one thing he didn't count on was that what really gave her strength. Of course she had yet to be able to reply to Toothless each time, but first thing she told herself, she and Toothless were going to figure this mysterious link between them out once they were back together and safe.

Today, Viggo was sitting on his side of a Maces and Talons board eyeing Hiccup as she tried the best she could to keep his eyes off her body. He had tortured enough with his admiration of her body and now the only relief she had was being able to sit on her side of the board out of his reach.

Viggo again moved his hands to touch hers, but she flinched them out of his reach.

"You better make your move soon my dear." Viggo grinned at her making her skin crawl even more than he already had the past few days.

"I'm just trying to play the game." Hiccup answered inching a little further back keeping her eyes on the game board trying to keep her eyes off of Viggo and his staring.

As Hiccup moved her pieces, Viggo smiled. "Very interesting move, you have forced me to relocate all 8 of my hunters."

Hiccup wasn't sure she should take that as a compliment or not. All she knew was that in some small way, she had impressed Viggo, even if she really didn't care what he thought of her. Hiccup said nothing and just waited for Viggo to make his move. At the end of the game, as she knew would happen, Viggo won again.

"You put a good fight my dear." Viggo purred moving behind her as she sat in her chair chained to the floor. "With some practice, you may soon win." He whispered lightly brushing his hands up and down her arms.

Hiccup began to whimper feeling Viggo touch her again. All her life, she had kept her innocence intact, and these past few days, Viggo had stolen it from her repeatedly. Her body was still sore from the night before. Viggo pulled on her chains and unlocked them from the floor and pulled her toward his bed. He then started his other game that made Hiccup wish the gods would just kill her then and there.

After another two hours of this, Viggo finally grew tired and put her back in the cage he had kept her in since he had brought where ever it was they were, which was Thor knows where.

"You'll come around my dear Hiccup, oh yes, you will." He said toying with a strand of her hair as she entered the cage.

'Not anytime soon.' Hiccup thought bitterly as Viggo covered her cage. 'Toothless, where are you?' Hiccup pleaded as she laid down.

She heard the door slam and then to her surprise, she heard something fall on the floor next to her cage. She lifted the cover enough to see what it was and to her relief, it was metal pick point used usually to help remove small pieces out of working gears and other things. But this time, it was going to help her escape. She grabbed it and hid it in what was left of her tunic. Viggo came back a short time later and went straight to bed. Hiccup stayed as quiet as she could to make it seem like she was asleep. After a few hours, she heard Viggo snoring, he was asleep.

Now was her chance. Working as quietly as she could, she starting picking the lock the pick point. At last the lock opened and Hiccup crawled quietly out of her cage. Slowly, she crept across the floor and quietly opened the door. Thank Thor, she found her leg by the door, she put it on and made her way as quiet and quickly as she could out. Thank the gods they weren't on a boat, just at Viggo's base. But there was still the matter of how she was going to get off the island.

Trying to stay out of sight, she worked her way through the woods and found the cages where they were keeping the dragons. Hiccup quietly waited for the guards to leave and then snuck in and unlocked the cages releasing the dragons. One dragon, a Zippleback, stopped and seemed to sense her desperate need to get out and let her climb on his back. Hiccup felt her heart flutter with hope and climbed up. The Zippleback took off after the other dragons. Once they were out of arrow range, she heard the guards raising the alarm that the dragons had escaped. Thankfully, no one saw them leaving.

Hiccup hugged her tattered tunic around her bare skin and cried again, this time thankful that she would never have to endure Viggo's touch or abuse again. With the pick she held on to, she pinned the open front of her tunic shut as best she could and held on as the Zippleback and the other dragons began flying faster.

By sunrise, Hiccup was getting tired, but she saw something that made her lose any feelings of exhaustion. She saw her father and Gobber riding Skullcrusher with Toothless and the other riders not far behind.

"Dad!" Hiccup called out as they met up in the sky.

All the dragons landed and Hiccup ran to meet her father. Stoick grabbed his daughter and hugged her tight.

"Hiccup!" She heard her sister call out for her.

The two sisters ran to meet and Astrid nearly crushed Hiccup in her hug.

Toothless then wrapped his wings around her and held her tighter than all the others did. By the time anyone let Hiccup catch her breath, she was already turning blue.

"Lass!" Stoick said noticing her tunic in ruin. "What happened? Did those hunters hurt you?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Right now, all I want to do is get back to the Edge and hope that what happened back there never happens again." Hiccup answered climbing onto Toothless' back.

"What about the Dragon Eye?" Fishlegs asked.

"We'll get it back, right now, let's go home." Hiccup answered as Toothless took off.

(Toothless)

Toothless was so happy to have his hatchling back, though seeing her clothes in ruin like they were and picking up Viggo's scent all over her, he had an idea of what happened and he promised himself that he would make certain that Viggo never touched her again. He turned his attention to the dragons following them.

"Thank you for saving my rider." He said to the Zippleback that had carried her.

"She saved us. The hunters had us all locked up on that island but she got out and set us free." The Zippleback answered. "The least we could do was make sure she got back to you safely."

"You knew she was mine?"

"Every dragon here can sense that she has Keena's heart, she was meant to be our savior. And any one with Keena's heart was destined to be with a Night Fury."

"It's nice to know that there are some out there who still follow her, I never thought I would be happy again when we lost her. But now we have that hope for peace again."

"We know. But where will be go now?"

"You can come back to our island with us, there's plenty of room for all of us." Stormfly offered.

"She's right. I'm sure my rider would agree too." Toothless agreed.

"Guess we'll follow you then."

"Consider yourselves part of our family now." Meatlug said as they flew over the ocean back toward the Edge.

(Hiccup)

Hiccup was back in her hut cleaning up and getting ready for bed. It had been a long few days and she was ready to get some rest. As relieved as she was to be home, she couldn't the feeling of Viggo's hands on her body out of her mind. She was almost afraid to go to sleep. Toothless seemed to sense her discomfort and offered her a spot next to him. Hiccup smiled and laid down next to him. She never felt safer with anyone than when she was with Toothless. Hiccup felt her eyes finally get heavy and she fell asleep. All at once, she heard his voice again

"You're home now, you're safe." She heard Toothless say.

She jolted her head up and saw that Toothless had not said a word. Not that she would even be able to understand him anymore anyway. Again she dozed off but heard the voice again. It seemed to help soothe her feelings of uneasiness and anxiety.

Hiccup trusted and loved Toothless, she knew he would never do anything to hurt her. There would be time to figure this magical link between them later. Right now, she just needed to rest. Tomorrow was a new day and she was ready to leave the last few days behind.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

(Several Months Later)

"Your people are going to die for what you have done!" Mala stated, furious at what she believed to be Hiccup's betrayal to her. "But first, I'm going to kill you myself." Mala said pointing her sword at Hiccup.

Out of nowhere, an arrow zipped by and knocked Mala's sword out of her hand.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty." They heard above them. Everyone turned and saw Viggo standing at the top of the ledge.

"Viggo!" Hiccup cried out.

"Ah, I see you met our friends Hiccup. Tell me, have they treated you well?" Viggo laughed.

"We are no friends to you!" Mala cried out as Throck pointed his spear in Viggo's direction.

One by one, hunters began to come into view at the top of the ledge. Despite how well Mala and her people could fight, they were outnumbered.

"Now this doesn't have to get ugly." Viggo said calling his men down.

"Viggo, you need to give these people their dragon back, you have no idea what will happen to these people without him." Hiccup demanded.

"Oh I am aware of my actions Hiccup, question is, are you?" Viggo teased her. "I hate to leave during such a well-organized meeting, but I have places I need to be and many people lining up for the dragons I have for them." Viggo said turning away.

Hiccup looked around and saw the look of fear in the eyes of not just her friends, but also Mala's people too. She knew there was one thing she could offer Viggo that he would not refuse. But it would come at an immeasurable personal cost.

"Viggo wait, you consider yourself a business man right?" Hiccup called after him getting his attention. "Well, how about we make a deal?"

"I'm listening." Viggo smiled back at her.

"Give these people back the Eruptadon, and I'll give you the one thing you wanted but couldn't keep." Hiccup offered feeling her hands begin to shake.

"And what would that be?" Viggo said turning to her.

"Me." Hiccup answered. "Give them the Eruptadon, and I'll go with you. I won't run, I won't try to escape. Just give them their dragon back."

Viggo smiled and walked in front of her. "You have a deal." He turned to his men and ordered them to release the dragon.

The Eruptadon slumped back into the pool of lava that made its lair and groaned in pleasure.

"Well, then I think we should go." Viggo said grabbing Hiccup's arm.

"Hiccup! No!" Astrid cried out.

"Astrid, it's okay. I'll be okay I promise. I'll be okay. Just take care of Toothless for me. Promise me you'll keep him safe." Hiccup answered as she disappeared over the ledge with Viggo and his hunters.

"We'll get you back Hiccup, I promise!" she heard her sister call out to her. She heard Toothless call out for her as well.

Viggo led Hiccup with his hunters back toward their ship. "You know, you're smarter than I thought." Viggo said releasing her arm and brought to the small of her back and then pulled her in closer to him. "I thought you wouldn't be gullible enough to fall into another one of my traps going to that island, but then to give yourself up for one dragon and those people, I have to admit I'm impressed by your valiant spirit."

Hiccup couldn't bring herself to say thank you or anything for that matter. She was in Viggo's hands again, and this time, she knew he wasn't going to be so careless as last time. If she ever did get out of this, it was going to take a miracle. Viggo released her back and led her by the arm back toward his quarters.

"The crew does hate noise at night when they must rest, so you'll have to keep the noise to a minimum, understand?" he asked tilting her head to face him.

Hiccup still didn't say anything, just nodded her head saying she understood. Viggo then handed her what seemed like a bottle of water. But as soon as it slid down her throat, she suddenly felt tired and dizzy. Her legs felt like pudding and she felt herself collapse into something, or rather someone. Through the haze, she heard Viggo speaking to her.

"Now I'll have to wait for you to wake up, but all good things to those who wait. Am I right my dear?" he said as he carried her toward what she thought was his bed.

Hiccup slipped deeper and deeper into the haze as she felt Viggo undo her armor and take her leg. She dully registered the ropes being tied around her wrists before she slipped into unconsciousness.

When she opened her eyes again, she tried to rub her eyes, but found her arms could not move. Finally getting her vision back, she craned her neck and saw the ropes around her wrists. She laid her head back down in defeat. Her memories of that day came flooding back to her. She knew where she was, and she couldn't have a deeper sinking feeling about what was going to happen to her soon. Her tunic was still on her as well as her pants, but she knew that it wouldn't stay that way for long.

Any moment now, she knew Viggo was going to walk through that door and start his fun torturing her as he had the last time he had her like this. As if on cue, the door opened and Viggo stepped in shutting the door behind him.

"Wakey, wakey pretty lady." He purred brushing a few strands of her auburn hair out of her face. "You know I missed seeing those pretty green eyes of yours." He said holding her face to look at him.

Hiccup said nothing. Then again, there was nothing she could do. She was at his mercy again and there was nothing short of the wrath of Thor that was going to save her this time.

"My dear, you don't know how much I have missed you." Viggo smiled as he made himself comfortable by her. "I know you loved playing Maces and Talons, so if you're a good girl, we may play later. And who knows, maybe with time, you'll come to enjoy having me as I have enjoyed having you."

Hiccup found herself seriously doubting that. She didn't love Viggo, and she never would. He was a dragon hunter, she was a dragon rider. No way any kind of relationship between them would ever work out or even be possible.

Viggo eventually started what he had been waiting for and Hiccup cried softly the entire time, not just because the ropes were starting to make her wrists raw and sting with her shifting in them constantly.

"I'm afraid we don't have a cage for you tonight, so you'll have to sleep with me." He purred tracing lazy circles around and up her stomach. "But don't worry, I'm a very sound sleeper." He whispered licking her neck up to her ear. "So beautiful." He breathed as he rested his head resting on her chest.

Hiccup wasn't sure if she could even sleep after all this. Especially with Viggo next to her. Her tears continued to fall from her eyes and she tried to keep her sobs as quiet as she could. Eventually however, her eyes did start to feel heavy from all the crying she had done and she let herself doze off despite her discomfort of having Viggo there on top of her.

(Astrid)

"I can't believe it, I lost her again!" Astrid yelled throwing her knife at a nearby tree.

"What are you talking about?" Heather asked. "What was Hiccup thinking? Why would Viggo want her?"

"I don't know why, but last time this happened, Hiccup was trying to save you from Viggo that night he stole the Dragon Eye from us. But Viggo also took Hiccup hostage, she still won't tell us what he did to her all that time he had her, but it wasn't anything good." Astrid answered trying to calm down.

"And now he has her again and who knows what he's going to do to her." Fishlegs said in a panic.

"And it's all your fault!" Astrid yelled pointing at Mala. "If you had just listened to her…"

"Astrid, that enough, there's nothing we can do about it now." Heather said holding Astrid back.

"My sister is in the hands of that monster again because of you!" Astrid kept yelling.

"Your sister saved my village and my people." Mala answered. "We will help you get her back from the hands of Viggo Grimborn."

"All right, let's go after them and blast them into oblivion." Snotlout suggested.

"That's not what Hiccup would want." Fishlegs said reigning Snotlout in.

"He's right, and if we just go charging in there, there in nothing stopping Viggo from killing her." Heather replied.

"Yeah, we need to plan this out carefully." Astrid agreed.

"We can make plan back in the village. We have rooms you can stay in for the night." Mala said leading them back down the mountain. "Throck, make sure no one disturbs the Eruptadon."

"Yes my queen." Throck replied gathering the guards at the entrance.

"Your sister is very brave." Mala said to Astrid as they headed back toward the village.

"I know. She's the reason the people in my village don't hunt dragons anymore. She and Toothless put an end to all that." Astrid answered trying to keep the tears from falling. "It's sad, all those years we were growing up together, I never once treated her like a sister, not until I saw what she was really capable of and what she was willing to do for us, for him." She continued looking at Toothless. "You know she actually made a new tail for him so he could fly on his own if he ever needed to. But he prefers to have her ride with him."

"I'm truly sorry for the way we reacted to you and your friends. I never realized that there were others out there who care about the dragons just as we do." Mala apologized

"It took us a while, but it's because of Hiccup and Toothless that we ride dragons and have accepted them into our lives."

"You must be proud of her."

"I am, and so is our father. She and I have become so close since she and Toothless made everything right." Astrid said wiping away a small tear. "It's funny how it takes something so horrifying as nearly losing someone to realize how much you really do care about them."

"Life can pull cruel jokes on us that way." Mala almost laughed.

"So how are going to get her back?" Heather asked as they arrived at the village.

"First off, you and your friends need to be trained. You may think you know how to handle the likes of Viggo Grimborn, but we have to teach you will give you a greater advantage than just having your dragons fly you in." Mala instructed. "And seeing how you are pressed for time, we will have to start immediately."

Astrid and Heather agreed, and pulled the others to follow them.

"My best warriors will start when you are ready." Mala said leading them to their training arena. "I must go check on the Eruptadon."

The training carried on for the rest of the day until the sun set and Mala returned and showed Astrid and the others where they would be staying. Everyone went to bed that night feeling exhausted. The twins and Snotlout complained for a good while, but Fishlegs just went to sleep before his head even hit the pillow. Finally, Astrid and Heather couldn't take listening to Snotlout and the twins anymore.

"It doesn't matter what you three think, we're doing this for Hiccup!" Astrid yelled at them, getting the to shut up.

"Yeah, if it was one of us, Hiccup would have done all this and more without a second thought about how hard it would be. The least we can do for her now is put up with a little pain until we can get her back." Heather agreed.

Snotlout and the twins laid down and went to sleep, or at least tried to. Astrid looked over at Heather.

"Thanks." Astrid smiled.

"No problem. You two have really started to feel like sisters to me, I want to get her back as much as you do." Heather replied laying down. "We should get some sleep, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"You're right." Astrid laid down and tried to fall asleep. 'Just hang in there sister. We'll get you back soon.'

(Toothless)

Toothless paced all around the village still in disbelief at what his hatchling had done. She had given herself up to the monster who had hurt her and was the reason that queen had wanted to kill her. Toothless often found it hard to figure out what she was thinking, but his was bad, even for her. Yes, she had saved all these people and doing so had earned their trust and their help, but at what cost. Now Viggo was going to do Thor only knew what there was nothing he could do to stop it. Astrid had given him his other tail, but as much as he wanted to go flying off after her, a part of him knew that doing so would only put Hiccup in greater danger. He had seen what Viggo was willing to rather than let his opponent win. If he just few in there, there was nothing stopping Viggo from killing Hiccup and Toothless was not willing to risk that.

He had failed his last rider once, and he was not going to fail his rider now. Keena had meant the world to him and he had been powerless to stop her from sacrificing herself to save his brethren all those centuries ago. Sometimes he felt that if he had truly loved her, he would have stopped her from taking that sword through the heart for him. He should have been the one to die that night, not her. All those years trying to keep her story and her dream alive by keeping the peace, and now he had that chance again with Hiccup and he was not going to lose another rider to another monster like the one who killed Keena all those years ago. He would crush his own heart before he let that happen.

"Hey, you may want to rest." He heard Meatlug suggest quietly as he looked around the village for the first time and saw that everyone was asleep.

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried about Hiccup." Toothless confessed following her to the quarters that had been given to them. "I can't believe that hunter has her again."

"Your rider did what she thought was best." Meatlug tried to comfort him.

"That's not it at all." Toothless growled. "What she did wasn't best, it was a last resort. She did it for the right reason, but it wasn't the best choice she could have made. In that one moment, she knew she could have done things different but she felt that there was no time to plan, no time to think or even plan like she always would." He ranted digging his claws into the soft ground. "She could've done things different, there was another way, but she felt trapped, like she had no choice. But the thing is, you always have a choice and like it or not they have consequences, if not for you then for others."

Stormfly came by slowly. "You're not just talking about Hiccup anymore, are you?" she figure out.

Toothless knew he had been caught. As much as he wanted to tell the two female dragons to mind their own business, he was going to have to tell someone sooner or later.

"You're right, I'm not, but what she did was no different than what the one I am talking about did." He confessed sliding into a heap on the floor.

"Who were you talking about?" Meatlug asked.

"I was talking about my last rider, Keena." Toothless answered.

"I had heard stories about her, but I wasn't fortunate enough to meet her. I was hatched centuries after she was already gone."

"I know." Toothless answered. "And you can forget what the stories may tell you, Keena's death was no accident. She was murdered trying to protect me."

Stormfly and Meatlug reeled back hearing that. "What happened?" Stormfly asked shocked.

"She and I were just out flying through the forests one night when we heard the cries of a dragon in need. We flew in to help only to find a young dragon trapped in a cage. He tried to warn us but it was too late, we had walked right into a trap, a trap laid by the hunters Keena had thought were her friends. Their leader was the one who had betrayed Keena from the start. When they had first met as children, Keena had thought that they had the same dream, a world where humans and dragons lived in peace. To achieve that dream, they built a relice that would act as a map and a guide to those who knew how to use it."

"What was it?" Meatlug asked.

"You've already seen it, only now the hunters have it again." Toothless answered.

"Wait are you saying what I think you're saying?" Stormfly asked at the revelation.

"Oh that's what he's saying?" Barf called from around the corner.

"Wait what was he saying?" Belch asked.

"You're telling us that the thing our riders have called the Dragon Eye, that was built by Keena and a dragon hunter all those years ago?" Hookfang jumped in.

"Yes, though when she had made it, Keena had intended for it to be used to help dragons, not hunt them. In the proper hands, it could show the user where to go to find dragons in trouble, what kind of dragons they were and how to help them. However, close to the Dragon Eye's completion, Keena sensed that her friend's intentions were not what he had told her they were. To make sure the information contained in the Dragon Eye stayed safe, she put a lock another lock on the Dragon Eye, a mechanism with a filament that could only be burned away by the glow of a Flightmare. Once both locks were open, all the information the Dragon Eye holds would be opened.

"If the filament were to be burned away without a tooth from a Snow Wraith, then the user would only have half the information. And you've already seen some of the information from the lock behind the Snow Wraith tooth."

"Wow." Meatlug breathed.

"Yes well, after the Dragon Eye was completed, Keena set out to test her friends intentions, only to find out that he had had her build the Dragon Eye to use as a means of finding and slaughtering dragons for his family's hunting business. Keena was able to get away with the Dragon Eye and I brought her back to the nest, swearing that the hunters would never use it. At first I had tried to convince her to destroy it, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it, not when she saw so much good that could be done with it.

"The night the hunters had trapped us, had been years after Keena found out who her friend really was, their leader had offered to let Keena and me go if she handed to him the Dragon Eye. Keena, of course, refused and the two of them engaged in sword to sword combat. For a moment, Keena looked like she would actually win, if not for the cowardice action of one of the other hunters. When I wasn't looking, another hunter had tried to stab me from behind. Keena saw this and pushed me out of the way just as the sword came down and pierced through her heart.

"Before I could do anything to stop him, the leader got hold of the Dragon Eye and left me and Keena for dead. As she laid there, I tried to save her, but she wouldn't let me use my magic to heal her. Instead, she told me of a vision she had years ago. How another child would one day ride me and we would be as unstoppable as she and I had always said we would be. Before she died, she had cast a spell on me that I had never heard anyone use before. I never knew what it meant until the day Hiccup's blood mingled with mine and I heard Keena's voice again."

"That spell made it so that your next rider could become a dragon?" Hookfang asked.

"No, the purpose of the bond was for us to learn of each other, how much we really needed each other. It was to teach us a lesson. The last words Keena ever said to me were, 'No matter how far you may sink, never give up hope. Without hope, there can be no peace.' I brought Keena's body back to the nest and we burned her remains by the sea shore we had found her at that night at sundown. After we had all said our good byes, I went after the hunters. I believed at the very least I would make sure that they couldn't use the Dragon Eye for purposes that Keena had locked it for.

"I tracked down their ship and chased them into the ship graveyard where they crashed and I finished off the hunters who remained on board and not eaten by the giant eels. In the captain's quarters, I killed the leader of the hunters and left the Dragon Eye hoping it would stay forgotten or eventually just sink to the bottom of the ocean with the rest of the ship. I was wrong."

"So, you're saying the Dragon never belonged to the hunters, it belongs to your rider?" Meatlug asked. "I mean, she is the one who holds Keena's heart after all. So wouldn't it make sense that the one who could rightfully say it belongs to them is her?"

"I guess so, but now the hunters have it again and now they have my rider again. It's happening again and there's nothing I can do to fix this." Toothless groaned hanging his head low.

"Toothless, I'm going to tell you like my rider told yours. It's not about how you fix it, it's how we all fix it." Stormfly answered.

"Yeah, we'll help you get Hiccup back if it's the last thing we do." Barf answered.

"Yeah, I mean who else is going to help keep our riders in line." Belch agreed.

Toothless smiled at all his friends who had helped bring him and Hiccup together in the first place. "Thank you guys, thank you."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

(Hiccup)

She was woken up by the feeling of Viggo teasing her hair. When he saw that she was awake, he grinned and brought his face to hers and claimed her mouth in an aggressive, devouring kissing. As he continued to devour her mouth, he brought his hands up and down her body. If Viggo still had enough energy to do all this in the middle of the night, Hiccup was starting to doubt she would ever have another moment's peace of mind. Yeah, it was going to be a long night, and an even longer the rest of her life.

Hiccup woke up with Viggo's arm still wrapped around her and his head resting on her chest. It had been a long night, Viggo had barely let her sleep.

"Hello gorgeous." He crooned looking up into her eyes.

"If you won't stop when I ask, will at least please do one thing for me." Hiccup pleaded.

"What is it my frail little thing?" he whispered in her ear.

"Will you please open the window? It gets really hot in here when your gone." Hiccup pleaded.

"If that's all you want, then I'd be happy to." He purred tracing his fingers around her face.

He then got up and opened the window near the bed. "Is that better?" he purred crawling on top of her again.

"For now." Hiccup whimpered.

During all this, Hiccup continued to quietly cry and let hot heavy tears fall down her red puffy face. How she prayed that she could just die right now so she wouldn't have to live with this forever.

Suddenly, Viggo yelped in pain and slumped over to the side. When Hiccup opened her eyes, she saw a dart sticking out of his neck. Something about was familiar, and then she realized it was the same one Mala's people used on them when they first arrived on their island. She craned her head to look out the window and saw two masked faces peering in. They jumped in through the window and ran over to the bed where Hiccup was still tied up.

"We are getting you out of here sis." Hiccup heard Astrid's voice coming from behind the mask.

"I'll guard the door, you untie her ropes and get on Toothless." She then heard Heather's voice come from behind the other mask.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you guys." Hiccup cried as the tears started to fall again, this time from joy.

"We can hug this out later, right now, let's get your gear and get you on Toothless." Astrid whispered as she untied Hiccup from the bed.

"She's right. We only have a few minutes before the effects of the dart ware off." Heather said tossing Hiccup her armor and her leg.

Hiccup put her leg back on and quickly got her vest and armor on around what was left of her tunic. Astrid led out the window where Toothless was waiting for her with Windshear and Stormfly. Hiccup jumped onto Toothless' back.

"I'm so happy to see you again Bud." Hiccup cried quietly wrapping her arms around her best friend.

"Let's get out of here." Astrid said as she jumped out onto Stormfly with Heather not far behind on Windshear.

The dragons flew off as fast their wings could carry them and their riders. Hiccup wasn't sure where they were heading, but anywhere was better than back on that ship with Viggo Grimborn. Hiccup didn't notice at first, but she soon saw that they were being followed by a flock of dragons.

"You saved them from Viggo too." Hiccup said turning to face Astrid and Heather as they pulled their masks off.

"Yes, I know we should have come for you first, but we had an open opportunity and we just wanted to make sure that they…" Astrid began.

"No actually, it's good you got them out first." Hiccup stopped her.

"Hiccup, we saw what Viggo was doing to you." Heather said. "And I know that it must be really painful right now, but if you ever want to talk about it, you can always talk to us, you know that."

Hiccup nodded, ashamed that they of all people had to see her like that.

"Heather's right, we're all sisters." Astrid agreed. "If you ever need us, we'll be there to listen."

Hiccup smiled weakly at the two girls whom she had become so close to the past three years. They were right, they were sisters, and as such they would always be there for each other.

Astrid and Heather led Hiccup back toward Mala's island. Once they landed, Mala apologized to Hiccup and thanked her for saving her people.

"Come, our healers will help with your injuries." Mala said leading her toward their healer's hut with Toothless staying close beside her the whole time.

Mala left Hiccup and Toothless alone with the healer. The healer asked her to remove her armor she could look at her more closely. Hiccup was reluctant and uncomfortable about it especially after all that she had been through, but she had to trust that the healer knew what she was doing. She pulled her armor and her vest off as the healer set to work looking at all the bruises that covered her body.

"My goodness child, just what did those hunters do to you?" she asked rubbing some medicine on her skin.

"I don't want to talk about it." Hiccup answered feeling tears start to form in her eyes again.

Toothless crooned sadly and nudged her arm telling her he was there for her. Hiccup stroked his head with a tearful smile saying thanks. The healer sewed up Hiccup's slashed tunic and allowed her to put her vest and armor back on.

"The bruising should be gone in a couple of days." The healer said as Hiccup got up to leave. "But I wouldn't advice anything strenuous in that time."

"Thank you." Hiccup answered smiling back at her as she left.

Hiccup and her friends stayed the night on that island and the next morning, they all headed back for the Edge. Once they were safely home, Hiccup sat with Toothless alone in her hut for a while until Astrid and Heather came and asked if she wanted to talk about what happened.

Hiccup didn't want to, but she knew she was going to have to if she was eve going to move past it.

"If I tell you, you have to promise that you won't think less of me for it." She pleaded. "And you can't tell the others."

"Of course we won't think less of you, it's not your fault." Astrid promised holding her hand.

"And whatever you tell us won't go any further than this hut." Heather promised putting her hand on her shoulder.

"Alright." Hiccup breathed.

She then told them everything Viggo had done to her, what he had done now, and about the first time he had her. Astrid and Heather were horrified at what they heard from her.

"I always knew Viggo was horrible, but this, this is just sick." Heather spat.

"I know I should have told about all of this before it's just," Hiccup started. "I was so ashamed of it the first time, not being able to stop him from laying his hands on me. I had hoped that I wouldn't have to go through it again, but when I saw that Mala and her people were in danger as well as all of you, I just, I lost touch with myself and didn't know what else to do. All I could think about was making sure that all those innocent people didn't die when I could have done something to save them, even if it meant that I would have to suffer Viggo's abuse again."

"Hiccup, no one blames you for what Viggo did to you. You saved all those people and now they know they can trust us to help them and we can trust them to help us." Astrid said rubbing Hiccup's back.

"None of this is your fault Hiccup. If it's anyone's fault it's Viggo's." Heather agreed.

"If you ever need us, we'll be right here." Astrid said pulling Hiccup into a sisterly hug with Heather joining shortly after.

Hiccup hugged them back and thanked them for listening as they left. That night, Hiccup was still insecure about sleeping alone. As she lay down next to Toothless, she heard him humming her lullaby as best he could for her. Hiccup felt tears in her eyes again as she wrapped her arms around Toothless' neck in thanks.

"I know I can always trust you to be there for me too Bud." Hiccup said as she laid down and dozed off.

Words could not express how much she just wanted to forget Viggo and everything he had ever done to her. Tomorrow was new day and a new chance to start over.

(Toothless)

Toothless watched as his hatchling slowly dozed off listening to him hum her mother's lullaby. All the time they had together, he only ever sang for her when she was upset or scared. Even though he knew she couldn't understand him anymore, it still helped her calm down and find peace of mind hearing him hum her song. When she was asleep, he too tried to fall asleep, but he still could smell that horrid stench of that hunter, Viggo Grimborn on her. He knew she had bathed as best she could, but his scent still clung to her like a tick dug in too deep. Finally, Toothless had to get up and go get some air before his temper got the best of him and he did something stupid.

As he paced around outside Hiccup's hut, he heard Windshear land not far away.

"How she holding up?" she asked.

"She's fallen asleep, so that's a good sign, but if this time is anything like last time, then she won't want to sleep in her own bed alone for a while." Toothless replied still worried. "To be honest, that wouldn't bother me if it wasn't because of why she wouldn't be able to sleep alone."

"I heard you talking about what happened to your last rider, Keena. I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for your loss, but you can't blame yourself. Blaming yourself will not bring her back and it won't change what Hiccup did to save you and all those people." Windshear said standing next to him.

"You speak as if out of personal experience."

"I am." Windshear answered. "Before I met Heather, I had another rider, a young man who loved dragons as much as any rider here could. One day we had flown too far from home and we got caught in a storm. I did all I could to keep him safe, but of all the things I lost him to, he died from trying not to starve. He ate a handful of poisonous berries and died before the sun rose.

"For years I blamed myself and wonder what I could have done to prevent it. But then I realized that there was nothing I could have done. I didn't know he had eaten those berries, he didn't know they were poisonous, and even if I could have changed anything, there was nothing I could to change it now. What was past was past. All I could do now was move forward and do all I could to make sure I did not make the same mistakes again.

"You can't control everything your rider does, what you can control is how you react and how you can do what you can to keep them safe in every situation."

"What are you saying?" Toothless asked.

"I'm saying do let what happened eat you alive, it's not worth it. Instead, move on and love every moment worth loving with your rider. That's what I have learned since I met Heather, and I hope you can learn that now after all this." Windshear answered.

"Thanks." Toothless smilled. "I'm sorry about your rider. What was he like?"

"In some ways, he was like your rider, although he wasn't always the sharpest arrow in the quiver. But he was sweet and he was willing to do anything for those close to him."

Toothless and Windshear talked a little longer until Toothless heard Hiccup calling for him like she was scared.

"Wait, I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for how hard I was when we first came here." Windshear called as she followed him back to Hiccup's hut. "I guess I just wasn't sure who I could trust after everything that happened with the hunters that night. I'm glad you and your pack were willing to have us here."

"I think our riders are happy to have you and Heather here too." Toothless said going inside.

Hiccup collapsed on top of Toothless in a hug as she started to cry.

"Toothless, I was there, he was, I just couldn't…" Hiccup sobbed in hysterics as she hugged him.

Toothless crooned sadly and wrapped his wings around his hatchling. Of all the pain and horror he had been there to see her through or been there for her to talk to, he had never seen her so broken. Whatever Viggo had done to her, Astrid was right, it wasn't anything good, but he also knew Windshear was right. He couldn't change what happened, all he could do was do everything in his power to make sure it never happened again.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

(Two Months Later)

(Hiccup)

Hiccup felt flushed and light headed, the third time this week. She slowly got off Toothless and leaned against the support in the arena.

"Hiccup, are doing okay?" Fishlegs asked landing close by.

"I think I'm okay, I'm probably just hungry. I haven't eaten well these past couple of days." Hiccup answered rubbing her head. "I think I'll just grab an apple from my hut and we can get back to training." Hiccup said trekking toward her hut.

Toothless looked up at her with heavy concern written all over his face. "I'm fine Bud, really I am." Hiccup said biting into the apple and heading back for the arena.

That night, Hiccup really felt sick. As her stomach lurched, she ran for the ledge and vomited pretty hard.

"Hey!" she heard below. She looked over and saw Snotlout below, now covered in barf.

"Sorry." She groaned and hobbled back with Toothless supporting her. "Okay Bud, maybe there is something wrong with me."

Toothless nodded in agreement. "I'm thinking we should go get Gothi." She said as her stomach lurched again. "Soon." She groaned trying not to throw up again.

She climbed into the saddle and she and Toothless flew on toward Berk. "Astrid's totally going to kill me for disappearing like this." Hiccup tried to laugh.

Toothless flew on most of the night, but seemed to be getting tired as they reached Berk's waters. Hiccup could see Berk coming into view. "Just hang on a little longer Bud, we're almost there."

Finally they landed and Hiccup walked Toothless up to the house she grew up in. Inside her father was still sleeping, so quietly, Hiccup helped Toothless to bed.

"You get some rest, we need to leave here pretty soon. I'll go see Gothi and maybe she can tell me what's wrong." Hiccup said rubbing Toothless' head as he laid down.

Hiccup silently slipped out of her house and climbed up to see Gothi. It took her a while, but Gothi finally opened the door and to Hiccup surprise, Gobber was there too.

"Gobber? What are you doing here?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, I could you the same thing." Gobber bounced back.

"Well, if you must know, I needed to see Gothi cause I have been feeling a little under the weather lately and I was wondering if she would be willing to help me." Hiccup said turning her attention to the villge healer.

Gothi looked at her and then glared at Gobber. She then started her writing thing with her staff.

"She says, 'I'd be happy to.'" Gobber translated.

"Oh thanks Gothi, I really appreciate it." Hiccup said as Gothi gestured for her inside. "What did you do to make her so upset this time?" Hiccup asked quietly.

"I uh, I might have added a little extra something to some yak noodle soup that did not agree with her and now she's been having some problems keeping it down." Gobber confessed.

"That's an image I can live without." Hiccup groaned.

Gothi did her thing and seemed especially drawn to Hiccup's stomach, or at least her staff acting a dowser did. Gothi looked closer and felt her stomach. She got a look of surprise on her.

"That's not a good sign." Hiccup said getting a bad feeling that this was not going to end well.

(Toothless)

When Toothless woke up, Hiccup was just getting back and she did not look happy. He crooned asking if she was okay, what did Gothi say. But Hiccup just kept staring off into space.

"I don't want to talk right now Bud, I'll explain everything back at the Edge." Hiccup said as they left just before her father could wake up and start asking questions.

From what Toothless saw, Hiccup couldn't get away from Berk fast enough. But he could also see that whatever Gothi told her couldn't have been good news. If she said she would explain everything later then she would, he just had to be patient. The long flight back to the Edge seemed to pass by faster than usual. When they landed, Astrid was waiting for them as Hiccup thought she would.

"Where in Thor's green earth were you?" Astrid demanded.

"I was back on Berk. I wasn't feeling well so I went to see Gothi." Hiccup said not entirely looking at her sister.

"Are you okay?" Astrid asked seeing her sister's thousand yard stare.

"Hiccup, you're back." Heather said landing close by on Windshear. "We were all pretty worried when we couldn't find you this morning."

"I'm, I'm fine. I just need to be alone for a little while." Hiccup said trudging toward her hut.

Toothless followed and thought Hiccup was going to ask him to stay back, but she didn't in fact when she looked back, her seemed to say that she was pleading with him to come with her. Toothless could see that whatever Gothi told her, whatever was wrong with her, it clearly had her very upset.

"What am I going to do Toothless?" she sobbed collapsing in a chair.

Toothless didn't know what she was talking about, but he walked over and nudged her arm anyway. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started to cry. Toothless didn't pry for her to tell him more, not that she'd understand him if he tried to ask anyway. He just stood there and let her cry and hug him for a while.

"Hiccup, it's me Heather. Can I come in?" they heard their friend ask from outside the hut door.

"Yeah, come in." Hiccup answered letting go of Toothless and wiped her eyes.

"Hey, are you okay?" Heather asked as she and Windshear entered Hiccup's hut.

"No, I'm not okay, in fact I am as far from okay as I could possibly be." Hiccup sobbed again sitting in her chair.

"Why, what's wrong?" Heather asked sitting next to her. "Is it about what Gothi told you?"

Hiccup only nodded and placed her face in her hands. "What was it, what did she tell you?"

Hiccup took a deep breath wiping away more tears. "I'm pregnant Heather." Hiccup confessed as more tears fell down her face.

Heather didn't move, but her shock betrayed all that she must have been thinking. "How could, when did…"

"I think we all know how, and who." Hiccup answered darkly through her tears. "Viggo got what he wanted, and if I have this baby, he'll have every right to me and to the baby."

"Hiccup, it's not going to happen. Okay, Viggo is not going to get to you or your baby." Heather assured her rubbing her back.

Toothless didn't know what to think. But clearly Windshear could see that he was not sitting well with this.

"I need some air." He said as he walked out the door as Windhear followed him.

"I'm sorry about your rider and her unwanted child. I could tell she was wanting to be a mother someday, and I have no doubt she would make a wonderful mother, but I don't think she's too thrilled about it going this way." Windshear apologized.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. It wasn't your fault." Toothless answered staring out at the ocean. "I know whose fault it is and Thor knows when I see him again, I am going to tear out his heart and burn it myself." He growled extending his teeth.

"I completely understand how you feel. I would melt any human to a smoldering pile of ash if they did to my Heather what they did to Hiccup."

"But the question remains, what do we do now?" Toothless asked. "Hiccup's right, if Viggo finds out she's going to have his baby, he'll stop at nothing to get her or her baby."

"All we can do now is wait and see what our riders plan to do and do the best we can to help." Windshear answered turning back inside.

Toothless eventually sighed and went back in too, only to be greeted by his hatchling throwing her arms around him again crying.

"Hiccup, if there's anything I can do to help…" Heather began.

"Don't tell the others. I can't let anyone else know." Hiccup pleaded looking at her.

"I won't but sooner or later their going to figure it out." Heather reminder her.

"Not if I'm not here." Hiccup answered.

Toothless shared the same taken aback reaction as Heather. "What are you talking about?"

"Toothless and I know of an island not far from here we can stay on for a while until the baby is born." Hiccup started. "I can tell the others that Gothi said that what I have requires me to stay on Berk where she can keep an eye on me."

"Okay, but what about after the baby is born, what are you going to do then?" Heather asked.

"That's what I was going to ask you. You of all people would be a better mother for the child than me." Hiccup said looking at her friend who was as good as a sister. "I wanted to ask if you would raise the baby. You can say you found them aboard a ship attacked by pirates or hunters or something, just Heather please, will you?"

Heather stared at her a moment, but eventually took her hand and said she would. Hiccup hugged her and got to work gathering her stuff.

"I'll come check on you when I can." Heather said as Hiccup got ready to leave.

Hiccup hugged Heather before she climbed onto Toothless' back. "Remember, until we can figure this out for good, you and Astrid will be in charge." Hiccup said as she got ready to take off. "You really are a great friend Heather." Hiccup smiled back as she and Toothless took off.

Toothless wasn't sure about all this, but Hiccup was right. If the others knew, one way or another it was going to reach Viggo and the last thing either of them wanted was for Viggo to claim her because of a baby he forced her to have. So for now, he was going to have to keep Hiccup and her unborn child close. His hatchling needed him now more than ever.

The island they came to was barely half a day's journey away so Heather wouldn't have to travel far. As the sun began to set, Hiccup and Toothless made camp in a cave up in the mountain for the night. Toothless held Hiccup especially close that night and hummed her lullaby hoping it would help her feel any better. Hiccup hugged him back and began to hum along with him.

"You always know what to do Bud." She smiled. "Thank you."

Toothless crooned and hugged her tighter. No matter what, Hiccup was his hatchling and he was not going to let anything or anyone, especially Viggo come near her or her baby again. No, Viggo was going to pay for what he had done, one way or another. But for now, Toothless knew he just needed to help Hiccup relax for now and try to stay as calm and healthy as possible for her sake and her baby's.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

(Five Months Later)

(Hiccup)

It had been five months since Hiccup had left the Edge to keep her unborn child a secret. Heather came by when she could to check on her and her baby. By now Hiccup was starting to feel the baby really getting active. Seven months into her pregnancy and she couldn't wait for the baby to be born. More often than not Heather had tried to talk her into changing her mind about giving the baby up to her, or to come clean and tell the others, but Hiccup still couldn't risk letting anyone else know, not with the chance that Viggo would find out, especially since the twins really couldn't keep their mouths shut about anything.

Today, Hiccup was sitting by the river that ran through the middle of the small island she and Toothless had called home for the past few months. While she sat by the water trying to relax, she saw Heather approaching the island. Hiccup met up with her at the cave she and Toothless had been using for shelter.

"Heather, I'm glad to see you." Hiccup said hugging her friend.

"I'm glad to see you too." Heather said returning the gesture. "How's the baby doing?"

"He's doing okay." Hiccup answered lightly stroking her belly.

"You really think it's going to be a boy?" Heather asking as they walked into the cave.

"I'm not sure, but I have to call them something." Hiccup answered slowly sitting by Toothless.

"I'm guessing you guys haven't been doing a lot of flying lately." Heather smiled.

"Not since the baby started getting more active. We just can't take the risk of hurting him or me."

"I get it." Heather answered. "So Hiccup listen…"

"I know what you're going to say, but my answer is still no. I can't tell anyone, you're the only one I can trust with this. Don't get me wrong, I would trust my sister with my life, but I couldn't endanger her by asking her to take my baby."

"That's not what I was going to say." Heather protested. "Look, I know I'm not going to convince you to keep the baby, but I can't take him Hiccup. There's just too much that we do that would ask me to spend too much time away from the baby. But I think I might know some people who could take good care of him."

"Who?" Hiccup asked.

"Mala, the Defenders of the Wing." Heather answered. "Think about it, who better to keep a child of a dragon rider safe than people who love the dragons as much as you do? They can teach him to love and care for dragons as we do. And one day, maybe we can teach him to ride as well."

Hiccup considered this for moment and she had to admit, Heather's idea was perfect. "Alright, once the baby is born, we'll head for their island."

"I think it would be better if we went there now." Heather said in urgency. "As much as I'm sure and Toothless can take care of yourselves, you're going to need someone's help when you're ready to deliver."

Again, Heather had a point. "Alright, if we want to get there before dark, we have to leave now. And it will have to be pretty slow going."

"Understood." Heather said helping Hiccup up.

Slowly and surely, Hiccup and Heather were able to make to the island of the Defenders of the Wing. Of course, the welcome mat was heavily guarded, but they made it to the village okay.

"So, you have returned, welcome fellow defenders." Mala greeted.

"Yes, and thank you for the warm welcome." Hiccup said slowly climbing off of Toothless' saddle.

Toothless crooned in concern when she cringed from feeling the baby kick. "I'm okay Bud, just fine." She groaned.

"Mala, we really need your help." Heather said almost as a plea.

"I know we will be asking you for a lot, but please, just hear us out." Hiccup begged. "Months ago, when Viggo took me in exchange for the Eruptadon, it wasn't a hostage he had in mind. All that time he had me as his captive, he took that part of me that no woman should ever have to lose to someone like him, and he got what he wanted out of it.

"As much as it kills me to say it, the child I am carrying is Viggo's but I can't even bear the thought of my child being raised by the likes of him, growing up to become the thing that I cannot stand in the least. What I wanted to ask was, would you and the Defenders of the Wing raise him? Teach him to love and honor dragons as you do and keep him as far from Viggo as possible."

Mala seemed shocked at what Hiccup had told her and what she was asking, and if she was being honest, Hiccup couldn't blame her. Mala stepped forward and put her hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"We would be honored to raise the child." Mala accepted. "He will learn to be a true protector of dragons."

"Thank you." Hiccup breathed.

"Your majesty, Hiccup needs to stay here." Heather spoke up. "Our fellow riders don't know about the child and Hiccup doesn't want anyone else to know because if word got to Viggo that Hiccup is about to have his child then he will come for them both. As far as the others are concerned, she is back on our home island sick and under the watch of the healer."

"Understood. Our healers will take good care of young Hiccup Haddock and her child and we will be sure to keep all knowledge of the child a secret from the outside world until he is born." Mala agreed.

"Good, Hiccup I have to go back." Heather said turning to Hiccup. "The others are going to wonder where I am if I don't get back before sundown."

"Got it, just be safe Heather." Hiccup said hugging her friend.

After Heather left, Mala showed Hiccup where she and Toothless could stay while they were on their island.

"Mala, thank you. You have no idea what this means to me." Hiccup said looking around her new living space.

"My pleasure. Rest assured, when your child is born, we will teach him to be a protector just as his mother before him is. Just one question,"

"Yes?"

"Do you plan to come back some day for him? Surely you can't stay out of his life forever." Mala asked.

"I'm afraid that's the way it's going to have to be. If I want to keep him a secret from Viggo, then that means I cannot ever come here for him. As much as it's going to hurt, it's better that he never knows me or his father, especially his father." Hiccup said feeling her heart grow heavier as she gently rubbed her unborn child. "That is not to say that we will never come back here, it just means that he can never know that I am his mother or that Viggo is his father."

"I see, well, he will be safe here, but remember this Hiccup Haddock, children always one way or another find a way back to their parents. So, just be prepared for the time when your child will come looking for you and his father." Mala warned her.

"I know and I will. But for now, I just want to make sure that Viggo never knows that the child is mine and his."

"Good, now you get some rest. It's been a long journey for you today." Mala said shutting her door.

Hiccup sighed and sat down on the bed. She and her baby were finally somewhere her secret would be safe and her child could be raised by people who loved dragons just as she did. And maybe one day, as Heather said, she could teach him to ride as she does. Toothless came over and poked his nose against her belly making Hiccup laugh lightly.

"I think he's going to love you too Bud." Hiccup said as she wrapped her arms around Toothless in a hug. "Thanks for all your help Bud. I just wish the child had come under different circumstances."

Toothless licked her face and grumbled his concern for her distress. "Everything's going to be okay Toothless. My baby will be safe here, and he can learn to love dragons and maybe one day ride them just like I do. Maybe he can learn to ride you too someday." Hiccup said rubbing his head.

Toothless grinned but he didn't seem too happy with her needing to give up her child to keep him hidden.

"I know it's going to be hard to leave my baby here Bud, but this is the only place he will be safe, and I promise, we will visit him when we can." Hiccup said reassuring him resting her head against his. "It's for the best Bud, for him, for all of us." Hiccup said aloud, more so to convince herself rather than her dragon. And if she was being honest, she wasn't sure if she believed it either.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

(Two Months Later: Hiccup)

Hiccup slowly followed Mala through the village with Toothless close by. She was approaching the end of her month pregnancy, and she was expecting the baby any day now. Hiccup could already feel the baby getting more and more restless. Reassurance from the healer told her that it wasn't necessarily the baby being ready, it just meant that there wasn't as much room for the baby to move around anymore, so she was going to feel the baby moving more for a while. While that did put Hiccup's mind at ease for a moment, she was still scared of the whole idea of having the baby. The only peace of mind she had about it now was that as soon as the baby was born and she was well enough to travel, she could go back to the Edge and her baby would be safe with Mala and the Defenders of the Wing.

Hiccup and Mala were on their way to check on the Eruptodon when Throck warned them that he had spotted riders approaching the island. Hiccup's mind flew into a panic. But a part of her knew that they were going to find out sooner or later, some way or another.

Hiccup stood with Toothless at the center of the village as Heather landed.

"I'm sorry Hiccup, I tried to tell them but they wouldn't listen…" Heather began.

"It's okay, I should have known I wasn't going to be able to keep a secret from everyone for long." Hiccup answered as Astrid and the other landed a few moments later.

"Hiccup, oh thank Thor." Astrid said jumping from Stormfly and racing to hug her sister. "Why didn't you tell us? Do you know how worried I was?" Astrid scolded her.

"Astrid, look I'm sorry, I just didn't know how to tell all of you and if I'm being honest, I wasn't sure how I was supposed to feel about it." Hiccup answered avoiding her eyes. "That's why I came here, that's why my baby's going to stay here."

"What? Why?" Fishlegs asked stepping closer.

"Because, Fishlegs, if Viggo finds out he got what he wanted out of me, there is nothing stopping him from coming after me or my baby. This is the only place he will be safe and the only place he will be able to learn to love and respect dragons as we do." Hiccup answered.

"So how much longer do you have?" Snotlout asked.

"I'm not sure, I'm already nine months in, the baby should be arriving any day now." Hiccup answered feeling her baby kick. "Guys, you have to promise that you will not breathe a word to anyone about my baby, especially you two." Hiccup said looking at the twins.

"Why does she look directly at us when she says that?" Tuffnut asked looking at Ruffnut.

"You may not know this, but you two are not the best at keeping secrets." Fishlegs answered for her.

"My queen!" Throck called out. "Viggo's men, spotted just off shore."

"Oh no." Hiccup breathed.

"Throck, double the guards at the lair of the great protector." Mala instructed.

Throck nodded and led half the guards that were present with him to the Eruptodon. Mala then led Hiccup to her temporary quarters. "You'll be safe as long as you stay here."

"Thanks, I really owe… Aahh! Oh no!" Hiccup cried out feeling the sharp contractions starting again.

"What is it?" Astrid asked holding Hiccup's shoulders.

"The baby's coming." Hiccup gasped.

"Can't you hold it in?" Tuffnut asked.

"Can someone slap him for me?" Hiccup gasped agitated.

Ruffnut slapped Tuffnut's lights out. "Done and done."

"I'll send for the healer, in the meantime, you stay here where Viggo cannot reach the child." Mala said as she left.

"We'll come too, we can help you keep Viggo's forces at bay." Heather said pulling out her axe.

"I need to stay with Hiccup." Astrid said helping Hiccup down. "The rest of you go with Heather and help Mala stop Viggo and whatever you do, do not let him hear you mention the word 'baby'." Astrid instructed.

"Not to worry, not a word shall pass from these lips." Tuffnut stated pulling himself up.

"Come on!" Snotlout said dragging them out.

Astrid helped Hiccup lay down on the bed as Toothless crooned and growled in worried tones close to his rider.

"It's okay Bud, I'm gonna be fine." Hiccup gasped as she breathed deep and hard. She reached up her hand and rested it on Toothless' face even though she was shaking so hard she could barely keep her hands still.

A few minutes later, the healer arrived and moved Astrid and Toothless out of the way.

"Alright child, now you need to brace yourself. When I tell you, get ready to push." She instructed.

Several painfully agonizing and yet slow minutes later, Hiccup heard her baby crying out for the first time. She heaved several breathes of relief and waited for the healer to hand her baby. The healer finished cleaning off the child and handed Hiccup her new born daughter.

"Oh Hiccup, she's beautiful." Astrid breathed standing next to her exhausted sister.

Toothless cooed at the new baby who gurgled at the new faces around her. Hiccup almost felt like crying despite how spent she was. Hiccup couldn't stop looking at her baby's dark hair, her tiny hands or her baby blue eyes. Hiccup could see the hints of green that would sometime soon dominate the blue. Yeah, her daughter was going to have her eyes.

As soon as the healer left, Heather and the others came back to see how they all were doing. Everyone seemed to turn to mush seeing Hiccup's new born daughter. Even Mala seemed to release her tough outer shell for the baby.

"She's beautiful." Fishlegs weeped.

"What are you going to name her?" Heather asked handing Fishlegs a hankie.

"You guys know that I…" Hiccup began.

"The child may be staying here, but she is still yours to name." Mala stopped her.

Hiccup weakly smiled. "I want her name to be unique, I want it to mean something." Hiccup finally answered.

"You know, I wasn't sure about all this either when you told me about how you were going to be a mother Hiccup. But seeing her now, all I can see is just hope for all of us, seeing how much you care enough for your new baby to give her a better life here away from the dragon hunters." Heather spoke up.

Hiccup smiled at Heather. "I know what I want to name my baby now, Hope."

"That's a perfect name, Hope." Astrid said stroking her new niece's tiny head.

"Hope, heh, that sounds like something I would have come up with."

"Good, then I'm glad you like it." Hiccup smirked at Snotlout.

"Hiccup Haddock, rest assured, Hope will know nothing of being a hunter. She will only know how to love and care for the dragons as her mother before her." Mala promised.

"Thank you." Hiccup answered with a tear in her eye.

She could feel she was getting tired and handed the baby to Astrid and laid down to rest. For the first time in a long time, she felt she could finally breathe easy. Her baby was finally here, and now she would have a home that loved her and would help her learn to love dragons as much as her mother did. Hiccup all at once found herself wondering what her mother was like. She often had wanted to ask about her to her father, but she could see that speaking about her mother often hurt him a lot more than he would admit, especially to her. But from what he did tell her, she could imagine her mother being like her, and wonder if her mother would have loved dragons as much as she did, if not more.

Right now, Hiccup was just grateful that her own daughter would grow up loving dragons just as she did, and one day, Hiccup hoped she could teach her to ride dragons just like her. Thankfully Mala had agreed that as her mother, Hiccup would be allowed to share what she knew of dragons with her daughter when she was older. Maybe, Hiccup thought, Hope could learn to ride Toothless. She was sure Toothless would love that.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

(three months later: Toothless)

Three months, that's how long it took for Hiccup to regain the strength for us to fly again. Giving birth to live young really took its toll on humans. Finally, Hiccup was able to put the saddle back on and they were ready to get back to the Edge. Toothless remembered Astrid had told her the last time they came to visit that Stoick would be coming to the Edge for a visit since he hadn't seen or heard from her in a while.

Toothless waited anxiously as they prepared to leave at the edge of the village. Hiccup was about to climb into the saddle when Mala showed up carrying Hiccup's new born daughter.

"Just remember Hiccup, we may be the ones to raise her, but she will always know you as her mother." Mala told her as Hiccup said good bye to Hope.

"But Mala," Hiccup tried to protest.

"She will know her mother, but she will know nothing of her father." Mala stopped her. "Let her know that she had a mother who loved her."

"Okay." Hiccup said rubbing Hope's tiny head. "I have something I want to give her." Hiccup said taking off her arrow head necklace, the same one she had made the night she had lost her mother.

"I made this the night I lost my mother, it helped me feel closer to her." Hiccup said putting the necklace around Hope's neck. "Maybe it'll help her feel closer to me as it did for me to my mother."

"I'm sure she'll treasure it as you have." Mala said smiling at the tiny baby that grabbed hold of her mother's finger.

Hiccup smiled down at her daughter. "I have to go now Hope, but we'll see each other again soon, I promise." Hiccup said with tears in her eyes. Finally, Hiccup gave Hope one last kiss good-bye and climbed into the saddle.

With one last wave, Hiccup gave Toothless the signal to go. Toothless felt his heart ache seeing his hatchling have to say good bye to her own. He remembered how hard it had been to say good bye to her all those years ago when she herself was barely a yearling. He could tell that Hiccup, despite who the father was, she still loved her baby. But she was right, it was too dangerous for her to raise her child on the Edge, and Viggo would know that Hiccup would have left her baby on Berk if he found out she had his child. Until they could stop him, with Mala and the Defenders of the Wing was the only place that Hope would be safe from Viggo and the dragon hunters.

Toothless crooned sadly as they flew back. "I know Bud, it hurts me to have to say good bye to her too, but she'll be safe there, and she'll learn to love and care about dragons just as you taught me." Hiccup said rubbing his head. "Come on, let's get back to Dragon's Edge, Dad's come over soon."

Toothless picked up a little more speed and they flew back to their base, their home away from home.

The next few days seemed especially hard on Hiccup, Toothless noticed that sometimes, she would absent mindedly reach to touch her necklace only to realize that it was gone and she would remember that she had given it to Hope. When Stoick came to visit, Hiccup said nothing of Hope or the fact that she had ever even been pregnant, let alone about what Viggo had done to her. Toothless at first thought that she should but he understood why she would want to keep a secret, even from her father. If Stoick knew about what Viggo had done or about Hope, odds were he wouldn't take it well, even if it was his own grandchild. So Toothless made no effort to make it known to Stoick that he was a grandfather. Instead, he just let Hiccup put his mind at ease as best she could about why he hadn't seen or heard from her for so long. At first it looked like Stoick was going to see right through her lies, but eventually he seemed to buy it and didn't push it further about her not keeping in touch.

"Just promise you'll come back and see me once in a while lass, I worry about you." Stoick said as he got back on Skullcrusher.

"I will Dad, I promise." Hiccup said waving good bye.

Once Stoick was out of ear shot, Astrid walked up to her sister. "So you're not going to tell Dad about Hope?"

"How can I? How do you think he's going to take it when I tell him that Viggo not only kidnapped me but he also got me pregnant and his granddaughter is on an island being raised by people who do not take well to outsiders?" Hiccup said.

"Hiccup, he's our father, and that's his granddaughter, I'm sure he'd love her no matter who her father was." Astrid tried to reassure her.

"But do you think he'll keep calm if he knows about Viggo being her father?"

Astrid didn't say another word. "Yeah, that's what I thought. He would without a doubt go after Viggo to kill him for what he did, and there's no way Dad would get out of there alive on his own." Hiccup answered.

"For now, it's best that Dad doesn't know until Viggo is stopped for good." Hiccup said feeling Toothless nudge her hand.

Toothless gestured for her to climb on. "Toothless and I have patrol right now. We can talk about this later." Hiccup said climbing into the saddle.

'Hiccup, you're gonna have to tell him some time. Better he hears from you than from someone else, especially Viggo.' Toothless thought as they made their rounds through the island.

(Viggo)

"Are sure about this?" Ryker asked his brother.

"Oh I'm sure brother." Viggo smiled as they sailed in the direction of the Edge. "If my timing of our scout's intel is correct, Hiccup would have given birth to my child about three months ago."

"And what makes you think she'll just hand the child over to you? It's her child too after all." Ryker reminded him.

"Oh she'll hand the child over, and she'll do it all too willingly when she knows about the bargaining chips I have for her." Viggo grinned. "Set the first branch for Berk and bring the chief to me."

Ryker relayed his orders and Viggo stood all too anxious to meet his new child, and soon, his new bride. Soon not only would he have an heir to his dragon trading business, but he would have his favorite lover too. And nothing was going to change that, after all if she had his child, he had every right to claim her as his bride.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(Hiccup)

Hiccup was going through drills with Astrid and Heather when the Night Terrors sounded the alarm.

"What's going on?" Heather asked.

"I don't know, but we're going to find out." Hiccup said mounting Toothless.

The riders flew out over the island and saw the dragon hunter ships. Hiccup felt her heart leap into her throat. Viggo was coming for her. Hiccup gave the order for the riders to attack, but as quickly as she gave the order, she saw something that made her just as quickly rescind it.

"Riders! Hold back!" she shouted signaling them to land on the beach.

As the riders landed, Viggo and his hunters pulled up on the beach as well and to Hiccup's horror, they had her father in bonds behind them.

"Viggo, what do you want?" Hiccup demanded feeling her anger spike.

"Oh I'm sure you're well aware of what it is I'm after my dear." Viggo sneered at her. "And since I am growing a little impatient, I'll make this easy for you, you can hand over the child or well, you're a smart girl, I'm sure you can figure out what happens to your dear father if you refuse to cooperate."

"Hiccup, what is he talking about?" Stoick asked.

Hiccup felt her heart jerk, she had never wanted her father to know about Hope, but what horrified her the most was that somehow Viggo knew. But right, Hiccup felt there was little point in hiding it anymore.

"Dad, I never wanted you to know this, but believe me when I say it wasn't out of spite, but what Viggo is after is," Hiccup breathed "my child." She confessed.

She could hardly bare to look into her father's eyes as he appeared shocked to hear that he was a grandfather and his own daughter had never told him. She expected him to be upset, but instead all he asked was, "Who is the father?"

"You're looking at him." Hiccup confessed sadly. Again Hiccup felt the same stabbing pain of seeing her father shocked and confused. "All that time Viggo held me hostage, it wasn't just as leverage. I ended up pregnant Dad, with his child. I never wanted you to know because I knew that if you found out what he had done to me you would have gone after him and I didn't want you to get hurt."

As if on cue, a large fire blast threw Hiccup and the other riders back against their dragons and the hunters scrambling. As the smoke cleared, Hiccup felt her hopes rise a little higher. Skullcrusher had come looking for his rider.

When Hiccup turned her attention back to Viggo however, she couldn't see him. But she soon found out why as she suddenly felt Toothless pulled away from her and she felt someone's hands around her mouth and body. She heard her father call out for her and Toothless crying out in anger. She didn't need to look to see who had a hold on her, she knew those hands all to well.

Viggo pulled her to the side. Toothless broke free growling at Hiccup's captor as Stoick, on Skullcrusher, along with the other riders moved in close.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Viggo said as he held a dagger to Hiccup's throat. "You wouldn't want your granddaughter to grow up without her mother would you? As I understand it, Hiccup knows what that's like all too well, am I right?" Viggo whispered in her hear.

"Viggo, let her go." Stoick demanded.

"Oh I'm afraid I can't do that Stoick." Viggo taunted. "If my knowledge of Viking law is not mistaken, as Hiccup has given birth to my child, I have every right to claim her as my new bride, am I right? And as I'm sure you are very passionate about the traditional Viking ways, you know you cannot ignore it now. Your daughter's hand was mine the moment our child started to grow inside her."

Hiccup felt her heart grow so heavy and her mind shatter at that, knowing that Viggo was right. Hope's birth had sealed her fate to become Viggo's wife. Nothing short of one of them dying could ever change that.

"Now, all I want is her, and my child and I can promise you, you won't hear from us again." Viggo said lowering the dagger.

"I'm afraid you've wasted your time Viggo." Astrid spoke up pointing her axe at him.

"She's right, Hiccup's baby isn't here." Heather spoke up.

Hiccup felt her heart racing, she was afraid that they were going to tell Viggo where Hope was, but what Astrid said next made her breathe a little easier.

"Her baby is dead, she was born too early to survive." Astrid spoke up. "She only lived a few hours before she died where she belonged, in her mother's arms."

Hiccup felt Viggo's grip on her slacken. "They're telling the truth. And you know what, I was almost happy that she passed." Hiccup declared as she thrust her elbow into Viggo's side causing him to let her go. As soon as she was free, she ran back over to Toothless who curled around her defensively. "And do you want to know why? Because that meant that she was spared the pain of having to grow up knowing that her father was a monster like you." Hiccup spat bitterly as she drew Inferno from her saddle bag.

Viggo looked back at Hiccup with angered look. He signaled for his hunter to open fire. Hiccup and the other riders along with her father were able to successfully dodge the arrows and send the other hunter running, but Viggo it seemed was no done. Before Hiccup could try anything else, Stoick was already on top of him pinning him to the ground with Skullcrusher a few paces away.

"This is for kidnapping my daughter!" he thundered delivered a punishing blow to Viggo's face. "This is for soiling her!" he punched him again. "And this is for all the pain you have caused her!" he shouted as he punched him over and over again.

Hiccup knew she had to get in there to stop him, but Ryker beat her to it as he threw her father off of Viggo and led him back to their ship.

"This isn't over Hiccup Haddock the third." Viggo called to her with effort of voice from the beating he took. "One way or another, I will see you lose everything and when that day comes, you'll have no choice but surrender yourself to me."

'Keep dreaming Viggo.' Hiccup thought as the dragons chased the other hunters off Dragon's Edge and out to the open ocean.

Once the ships were out of sight passed the horizon, everyone gathered back at the clubhouse to regroup. Hiccup and Stoick, however, remained outside.

"The child is not really dead, is she?" Stoick as they stared out over the ocean.

"No, but Heather wasn't lying when she said that she isn't here." Hiccup answered. "I didn't want Viggo to get to her, so we left her on another island under the care of some new allies we made several months back."

"What is her name?"

"I named her after the only thing that has ever given me the strength to keep going, I named her Hope."

"That's a beautiful name." Stoick said placing his hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "And you're sure that she'll be safe with them?"

"Without a doubt, I have never met people more capable to keep her safe from the hunters than them. But I still plan to be a part of her life, I just won't be able to be there for her all the time." Hiccup explained. "Until Viggo is gone for good, it's better that she stays with them."

"I understand lass, I just want to know, will I ever be able to see her?" Stoick asked looking into his daughter's eyes.

"Yes, we can go right now if you want." Hiccup asked taking her father's hand. "Just to warn you, they don't take very well to outsiders."

"I'll take whatever chance I can to see my granddaughter." Stoick said smiling.

Hiccup smiled back and the two of them hopped on their dragons and set off for the defender's island.

"When we get there Dad, stay close to me, I need to let them know that you're a friend and not working with Viggo or the hunters." Hiccup said as they flew over the ocean.

When the island came into view, Hiccup expected for Mala's friends to corner her and her father as usual, but instead, they came out of hiding and escorted her and Stoick to Mala's.

"Wonderful to see you again Hiccup Haddock." Mala greeted. "And who is this that you have brought with you?" she said eyeing Stoick suspiciously.

"This is my father, he's only here to see Hope." Hiccup explained. "I'll be honest though, I was expecting the usual ambush, but I was pretty surprised when your defenders just came out of hiding and brought us here."

"You are a friend to us, we know that you wouldn't bring someone who meant us harm to our island, not after everything you have done for us." Mala answered. "The child is this way."

Mala led them to the quarters where Hope was being cared for by the village healer. The healer handed Hope to Hiccup who held her up to her father.

"She's beautiful Hiccup." Stoick said rubbing his hand down the tiny infant's head.

"I know." Hiccup said slowly rocking her child in her arms. "Do you want to hold her?"

Stoick couldn't speak, he just nodded and held his arms out as the tiny child was placed in them for the first time. Hiccup could swear she saw her father's eyes start to tear up seeing his new granddaughter. Mala and the healer left Hiccup, Stoick and Toothless alone.

"Hiccup, I may not be happy with how she came to be, but she is still my granddaughter and I can promise you this, I will do everything I can to help you protect her." Stoick said as he looked at her as a tear slid down his face.

"Dad, all I ask is that you not tell anyone about her. Right now Viggo thinks she's dead, and it's best that we keep it that way." Hiccup said kissing Hope's head.

"Then so be it." Stoick said as he slowly rocked Hope in his arms.

(Eight years later)

Hiccup and Toothlesslanded on the Defender's island for the first time in two months. The defenders came out of hiding and escorted her to the village where Hope was waiting for her.

"Mommy!" Hope yelled racing across the plaza to meet her.

"Hey there sweetheart." Hiccup said scooping her child into her arms.

"Are you going to take me flying soon like you promised?" Hope asked her sweet green eyes beaming with excitement.

"First I have to speak with Mala." Hiccup answered putting her daughter down. "But you can ride Toothless while we walk there."

Hope laughed as Hiccup placed her on Toothless' back. Toothless crooned with his usual gummy smile as Hope rubbed his head.

"I've missed you Toothless." Hope said as she wrapped her little arms around Toothless' neck.

Hiccup couldn't contain her smile. It had been almost seven years since Viggo and Ryker had been brought down by Hiccup and her riders as well as the Defenders of the Wing. The hunters had collapsed with their leaders gone. As for Viggo and Ryker, as much as Hiccup was repulsed by the idea of having them executed, what Mala decreed was within her right as the queen. Hiccup would never have brought herself to kill anyone, even if others would have said that they deserved it, but it was one time that she had to stomach it. She was given solace, however, knowing that the hunters, especially Viggo, would never be able to harm anyone, human or dragon, ever again.

Hope was now safe from her father, not that she ever asked about him. And she was happy living with the Defenders of the Wing. Mala had taught her well, Hiccup was so proud to see her daughter have a love a dragons just as she did. And as part of their agreement, Hiccup couldn't wait until Hope's fifteenth birthday to begin teaching her how to train and ride dragons.

The only thing that made Hiccup lose her smile a moment was remembering her father, it had been nearly six years since he died protecting her from Drago Bludvist, but what her truly sad about this, was knowing that Hope would have been two years old at the time and never got the chance to really know her grandfather. But Hiccup felt that as long as Hope still had her, she would know her grandfather because of her.

When Hiccup met up with Mala, Mala seemed pretty happy to see her as Mala's son, Tyran, ran in close behind her.

"So good to see you again Hiccup Haddock." Mala said embracing her.

"Nice to see you too. I see Tyran is doing well."

"Yes, he and Hope seem to be getting along wonderfully." Mala said as her son ran to meet Hope and Toothless.

"That's good, if he would like and with your permission, maybe he could come for a ride with me and Hope on Toothless."

"I don't think my son would forgive me if I said no." Mala almost laughed. "You have truly changed things for us here Hiccup Haddock. Ever since you and your fellow riders helped us defeat Viggo Grimborn and showed us what you came to learn about dragons, our ways with them have changed. Now we not only defend them, but we have learned to ride them as well, no small thanks to your friend Heather and her Razorwhip. They have both been excellent teachers for us."

"Yeah, Heather and my sister were among my best riders back on Berk. I'm glad Heather was able to find her place here. It almost seems like yesterday she was so lost and confused, trying to figure out where she belonged and where she wanted to be." Hiccup said watching her daughter and Tyran play around with Toothless. "Though I have to say, a few years ago I thought she and Fishlegs would have ended up together, but now it's kind of weird seeing him married to Ruffnut, but I'm glad Heather was able to find her special someone here too. Throck seems like the perfect match for her."

"Yes, those two are the strongest fighters my people have had in a long time. They really do seem to be perfect for each other." Mala smiled.

"Mommy!" Hope called. "Can we go flying now?"

"I'm coming sweetheart." Hiccup called. "We can talk more later." Hiccup said to Mala as she helped Hope and Tyran into the saddle.

Hiccup gave Toothless the signal to go and they flew around the island as the sun started to set.

"It's so pretty Mommy." Hope sighed in front of Hiccup.

"Yes, yes it is." Hiccup said stroking her daughter's hair.

She saw Toothless glance up at her and she could see his expression similar to hers. They both knew that he would without a doubt out live her. But Hiccup told Toothless that when her time does come, she would rest in peace knowing that Toothless would be there to look after her daughter and her family after her. In the years since Hope's birth, Hiccup and Toothless had learned so much about what the bonded magic between them truly was. But the most important thing they learned was that Hiccup's blood mingling with Toothless' wasn't just a means of forging the contract of the blood bond, it was also a means of bonding their blood lines. As long as Hiccup's bloodline continued, Toothless would live on to watch over and protect them as he had protected her.

Hiccup felt a small stab of pain having given Toothless that kind of immortality, but Toothless had reassured her that he would have happily lived through all eternity watching over her family as long as it meant that he could be close to her doing it. Because whether they were her or not, they were her family which made them his family too. So no matter how much time would pass, he would be perfectly happy watching her children grow and being there to help and protect them.

As they flew on, Hiccup rubbed Toothless flank and whispered to him, "No matter what, we'll always be together Bud."


End file.
